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I have a misdemeanor warrant in Florida, I live in Utah. Will they have Utah police arrest me and extradite me on a misdemeanor charge? Utah doesn't extradite anyone that lives more than 400 miles away,is this true with Florida as well?

Asked on 4/29/09, 2:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

It is the State Attorney that is responsible for prosecuting you that decides whether to extradite you. Given budget issues, it is unlikely that the State would bring you back, at its expense, for a minor charge.

However, that does not stop you from being arrested on the warrant if you get pulled over for a traffic stop. It typically takes a few days for the State Attorney to decline to extradite, so until you take care of the charge you might have a stay in the local grey bar hotel (jail)for anywhere from a few days to a week, until you either post bail, or you are extrdited, or the state declines to extradite. Generally more than just a minor inconvenience for most folks.

The solution is to take care of the charge via a plea in abstentia, and just resolve the matter. That of course requires you to plea to the charge, and if you wanted to contest the charge this option is not really open to you.